BE AWARE OF THE OCCULT

“Then you seers will be put to shame, and you fortune-tellers will be disgraced. And you will cover your faces because there is no answer from God.” – Micah 3:7

If someone were to ask, “What exactly is wrong with the occult,” how would you answer? The occult has permeated our society to such an extent that we tend to dismiss it as just another fad. But it is far from having pumpkin-flavored everything in the fall. It is important to step back and look at what occult groups and practices are really about, how people can be attracted by them or lured into them, and what the dangers really are.

If you ever wonder if the occult is kinda harmless, ask the question, “What would Jesus do?” Can anyone even imagine Jesus and His disciples going to an open-air market in Jerusalem, finding a fortune teller, and sitting down and asking him or her what His future would be? Can we imagine Jesus getting up each morning and wading through the Jerusalem Gazette, to find His horoscope because He needed to know what the day would bring? Can we picture Jesus and His disciples participating in a seance to talk with those who had gone on before them? There is no chance of that happening. Involvement in the occult is clearly forbidden by God in scripture.

 “I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.  Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 20:6-7). Deuteronomy 18:10-13 says, “For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. But you must be blameless before the Lord your God.”

The Bible is very clear: If we want to please God, we will avoid everything that has anything to do with the occult. We are to be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Part of being self-controlled and alert is being wise to Satan’s schemes, but not to delve into the details of every occult practice and phenomenon. We need to understand the devil’s ultimate goal is to separate us from God.

The occult—whatever form it takes—will lead you away from God, not toward Him. It’s a substitute for the living God and will never give you the peace and joy you seek, no matter what it promises. The Bible’s judgment on occult phenomena is blunt: “Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord” (Deuteronomy 18:12).

 Discussion Questions:

1. What does the occult mean to you? 
2. What can we do this week to maintain an active firewall against the occult?